Title of document: Minutes of “Lao Bamboo & Rattan Platform” workshop, 15th and 16th June 2016 Vientiane, Lao PDR Author: Sara Melki Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: GRET Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Laos Summary: A Lao Bamboo & Rattan Platform workshop addressing the development of the bamboo and rattan sector in Lao PDR was held on the 15th and 16th of June 2016 in Vientiane capital, Lao PDR. It was co- organised by DoF/ MAF, GRET, WWF and RECOFTC. It brought together 38 participants from national and international NGOs, researchers and provincial and national governments agencies, development partners actively working on developing the bamboo and rattan sector in Lao PDR (see participants list in Annex). It aimed at defining and creating a dynamic Lao Bamboo & Rattan Platform for facilitating experience sharing among projects in the country in order to create a common vision, to act the willingness of a Lao Bamboo & Rattan Platform as well as to start the formulation of an action-plan of the Lao Bamboo & Rattan Platform for initiating a discussion on the national governance of the bamboo & Rattan value chains in Laos. The workshop was organized into 2 sessions: -         -  Presentation of the national forestry strategy, related to NTFP and bamboo and a review of main 6 bamboo and rattan projects implemented in Laos (short presentations) -          - 2 discussions : -->  Can we scale up the Houaphan experience to National sector development? What are our common vision and objectives on developing the bamboo sector in Lao PDR? Construction of a Lao bamboo sector governance, based on Huaphan Province experience --> What are main Functions and activities for the Lao Bamboo & Rattan Platform for the next 3 years?   Read More

Title of document: The System of Rice Intensification (SRI): Responses to frequent asked questions Authors: Norman Uphoff Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Cornell University Year of publication: 2015 Geographic focus: World wide Url original document: http://sri.cals.cornell.edu/news/features/2016/featured040416.html Summary: Compared to a decade ago, many more persons – at least 10 million people, most of them farmers -- can now answer the question "What is SRI?" at least in general terms. However, most would probably not give very detailed answers, and many would like to know more about this strategy for raising the crop yield of rice, and now also other grains, legumes and vegetables, just by changing the way that these crops are managed, with minimal reliance on purchased inputs. Also by now, many more persons will at least have heard something about SRI and about its benefits for producers, for consumers, and for the environment. They may well be interested in a systematic introduction to this phenomenon which has demonstrated positive results in more than 50 countries around the world (http://sri.cals.cornell.edu/countries/index.html). So this book is written for both groups of potential readers, bringing together in one place much of the accumulated field experience and scientific research that makes the System of Rice Intensification and its derivations grouped under the broad heading of the System of Crop Intensification an unprecedented opportunity for enabling people to improve their lives in this 21st century.   Read More

Title of document: Agroecology and the Food System Authors: A. Wezel and C. David Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Department of Agroecosystems, Environment and Production, ISARA Lyon (associated member of the University of Lyon), 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon cedex 07, France Year of publication: 2012 Geographic focus: World wide Url original document: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226169779_Agroecology_and_the_Food_System Summary: On a global scale agriculture and food will face key challenges of properly feeding a population of nine billion individuals in 2050, while preserving the ecosystems from which other services are also expected, such as bioenergy production, biodiversity use and conservation, carbon storage and climate regulation. To develop future sustainable agricultural production and food systems, agronomic, ecological, economic and social challenges have to simultaneously be taken into account. The framework of agroecology applied on the food system could be a useful concept to support this development. Although the scale and dimension of scientific research in agroecology has been enlarged in the last years towards the food system approach, it is still difficult to outline clear concepts, new models and new methods that specify it.   Read More

Title of document: Are Local food Chains More Sustainable than Global Food Chains? Considerations for Assessment Authors: Gianluca Brunori, Francesca Galli, Dominique Barjolle, Rudolf van Broekhuizen, Luca Colombo, Mario Giampietro, James Kirwan, Tim Lang, Erik Mathijs, Damian Maye, Kees de Roest, Carin Rougoor, Jana Schwarz, Emilia Schmitt, Julie Smith, Zaklina Stojanovic , Talis Tisenkopfs and Jean-Marc Touzard Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: World wide Url original document: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/5/449 Summary: This paper summarizes the main findings of the GLAMUR project which starts with an apparently simple question: is “local” more sustainable than “global”? Sustainability assessment is framed within a post-normal science perspective, advocating the integration of public deliberation and scientific research. The assessment spans 39 local, intermediate and global supply chain case studies across different commodities and countries. Assessment criteria cover environmental, economic, social, health and ethical sustainability dimensions. A closer view of the food system demonstrates a highly dynamic local–global continuum where actors, while adapting to a changing environment, establish multiple relations and animate several chain configurations.   Read More

Title of document: Biodiversity Conservation in Rice Paddies in China: Toward Ecological Sustainability Authors: Yufeng Luo, Haolong Fu and Seydou Traore Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China Year of publication: 2014 Geographic focus: China Url original document: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/9/6107 Summary: This paper describes the current situation of rice paddy biodiversity in China and analyzes the community characteristics of arthropods and weedy plants. Meanwhile, we discuss how biodiversity was affected by modern agriculture changes, which have brought about a mounting crisis threatening to animals and plants once common in rice paddies. Measures should be focused to firstly preventing further deterioration and, then, also, promoting restoration processes. Ecological sustainability can be achieved by restoring paddy field biodiversity through protecting the ecological environment surrounding the paddy fields, improving paddy cropping patterns, growing rice with less agricultural chemicals and chemical fertilizers, constructing paddy systems with animals and plants and promoting ecological education and public awareness.   Read More

Title of document: Organic Agriculture as an Opportunity for Sustainable agricultural Development Authors: Verena Seufert Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Institute for the Study of International Development Year of publication: 2012 Geographic focus: World wide Url original document: https://www.mcgill.ca/isid/files/isid/seufert.pb13.pdf Summary:  We need drastic change in the global food system in order to achieve a more sustainable agriculture that feeds people adequately, contribute to rural development and provide livelihood to farmers without destroying the natural resource basis. Organic agriculture has been proposed as an important means for achieving this goals. Organic agriculture currently covers only a small area in developing countries but its extent is continuously growing as demand for organic products is increasing.   Read More

Title of document: Integrated Pest Management for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in Asia and Africa Authors: Jules Pretty and Zareen Pervez Bharucha Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Year of publication: 2015 Geographic focus: Asia and Africa Url original document: http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/6/1/152 Summary: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a leading complement and alternative to synthetic pesticides and a form of sustainable intensification with particular importance for tropical smallholders. Global pesticide use has grown over the past 20 years to 3.5 billion kg/year, amounting to a global market worth $45 billion. The external costs of pesticides are $4–$19 (€3–15) per kg of active ingredient applied, suggesting that IPM approaches that result in lower pesticide use will benefit, not only farmers, but also wider environments and human health. Evidence for IPM’s impacts on pesticide use and yields remains patchy. We contribute an evaluation using data from 85 IPM projects from 24 countries of Asia and Africa implemented over the past twenty years.   Read More

Title of document: Innovative Markets for Sustainable Agriculture. How innovations in market institutions encourage sustainable agriculture in developing countries Authors: Loconto, A.; Poisot, A.S.; Santacoloma, P. Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: FAO Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Developing countries Url original document: http://www.fao.org/publications/card/en/c/53d39282-ddd7-460c-a27f-3d5015eea7ca/ Summary: Between 2013 and 2015, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) undertook a survey of innovative approaches that enable markets to act as incentives in the transition towards sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Through a competitive selection process, 15 cases from around the world provide insights into how small-scale initiatives that use sustainable production practices are supported by market demand, and create innovations in the institutions that govern sustainable practices and market exchanges. The results are: (i) system innovations that allow new rules for marketing and assuring the sustainable qualities of products; (ii) new forms of organization that permit actors to play multiple roles in the food system (e.g. farmer and auditor, farmer and researcher, consumer and auditor, consumer and intermediary); (iii) new forms of market exchange, such as box schemes, university kiosks, public procurement or systems of seed exchanges; and (iv) new technologies for sustainable agriculture (e.g. effective micro-organisms, biopesticides and soil analysis techniques). The public sector plays a key role in providing legitimate political and physical spaces for multiple actors to jointly create and share sustainable agricultural knowledge, practices and products.   Read More

Title of document: Finding alternatives to swidden agriculture: does agroforestry improve livelihood options and reduce pressure on existing forest? Authors: Syed Ajijur Rahman, Jette Bredahl Jacobsen, John Robert Healey, James M. Roshetko, Terry Sunderland Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation:University of Copenhagen, Bangor University & CIFOR Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Indonesia Url original document: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10457-016-9912-4 Summary: Swidden cultivation can contribute to deforestation and land degradation, which can subsequently result in a number of serious environmental problems. This paper examines the economic and social potential of agroforestry systems and the barriers to their widespread adoption, as a land use alternative to swidden cultivation, which may potentially help protect local forest. Based on farmers’ and experts’ assessment, costs and benefits have been estimated, which show that the two investigated agroforestry systems have higher net present value and benefit-cost ratio (B/C) than the two swidden cultivation systems. Tree ownership also creates more permanent rights to farmland and is prestigious in the community. Agroforestry products (fruit, vegetables etc.) have high monetary value and help strengthen social cohesion when shared with neighbors.   Read More

Title of document: Agroforestry for Livelihood Security in Agrarian Landscapes of the Padma Floodplain in Bangladesh Authors: Syed Ajijur Rahman, Muhammad Hasan Imam, Denyse J. Snelder, Terry Sunderland Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Small-scale Forestry Year of publication: 2012 Geographic focus: Bangladesh Url original document: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11842-012-9198-y Summary: In the Padma floodplain of Bangladesh, the traditional system of agriculture has become unsustainable due to high population growth. Mango-based agroforestry which has been practiced by the farmers since the 1990s, is a promising alternative and is considered as one of the few options to lift farmers out of poverty and improve livelihood security. This paper examines the potential of mango-based agroforestry to improve livelihoods, using data collected by rapid rural appraisal, farmer participatory research, stakeholder analysis and a farm household survey in six representative villages in the floodplain. Farmers with the least land were found to allocate a higher percentage of their land to agroforestry, and the increased income from agroforestry compared to other agricultural systems helps reduce relative poverty. This income maintains basic household needs, providing food security and fuelwood, and contributes to healthcare, housing and sanitation conditions, and meeting educational expenses.   Read More